deep litter for healthy chickens and rich organic compost, on appleturnover farm

The deep litter method is a good old fashioned way to keep chickens in a resilient natural system. See how to create a regenerative, living cycle in the henhouse and chicken run that yields fresh eggs, nitrogen rich compost for the garden and orchard and a healthy, contented flock of free range laying hens, ducks, geese and chicks.
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#permaculture #regenerativeagriculture #chickens

[@sherimcneil3079]

Every spring I clean out the chicken runs and take the finished compost to the garden then clean out the coop and put the used bedding in the run while putting fresh pine shavings in the coop...it's like an amazing conveyor belt! I have used this method for many, many years!

[@appleturnover]

it makes so much sense. old school practices really!

[@thesquarewindow2654]

You make beautiful and informative videos. I live in South Africa and recently acquired a farm where there were 14 chickens. Prior to this I knew absolutely nothing about chickens and did a lot of research. Watching your videos has taught me a lot particularly this particular one. The previous owners did not care about the chickens and there was nothing except sand in the run. I have now created a deep litter for them as we are moving into fall and they are so happy. They also have long conversations as I work and where they previously ran away when I came near them they now crowd around and curiously investigate everything I do. Thank you, I am a huge fan!

[@appleturnover]

oh, that is so, so wonderful. please give my love to your little friends, they clearly get their needs met with you. i’m so encouraged, thank you for this! i hope you will like the next film (and if you are a podcast listener, drop by patreon.com/appleturnover today as i release a first piece for company as you’re pottering about. have you heard the chickens say your name in greeting yet? we all have our own…

[@humboldthemp4306]

I love the idea of keeping some of the old house mulch to kickstart the new material.

[@appleturnover]

me too. it makes a great deal of sense once the relationship to compost or sourdough cultures is understood.

[@chrism3845]

Thank you for this video. I must add it is a far superior presentation to many others I have seen seeking information on this very topic.

[@appleturnover]

thanks chris!

[@memesjenkins2104]

you have a very healthy looking flock

[@appleturnover]

thanks! i can gaze at them all day. they do get what they need in all the varied landscape here. fermented feed and a wide range of forage helps. and deep litter!

[@1234321vicky]

What a fantastic and informative video! I hope you'll do more about chicken keeping, feeding, daily/weekly maintenence etc. So interesting that I have watched it 3 times ❤

[@appleturnover]

oh, thanks ever so much vicki ♡

[@ericsuiter7619]

Our first chicks are in the brooder, our hen house and run are almost finished, so I'm heavily researching bedding options. Stumbling across your video has been quite refreshing. Mimicing nature (as often as possible) truly saved my gardening experience this year - I'm sure it'll be a wise choice in chicken raising as well. Thank you for sharing your experiences and findings. This video was very movie-like in quality. Looking forward to exploring your channel.

[@appleturnover]

how exciting to be setting up (hen)house! i’m so pleased that you found it useful. composting the shavings-heavy bedding from the house in the run has been working beautifully. i’m working on a new film about ducks…

[@loriperez3578]

what beautiful videography, music and information! makes me very happy watching this lovely video! best one I've seen for making a deep litter chicken run. I'm already trying it and having great results with even happier chickens. cheers to your lovely gift you share giving us a peek into your peaceful, gorgeous farm. ❤️

[@appleturnover]

lori, we are ever so pleased to hear it. thank you!

[@marie-pierberrouard7725]

We were thinking of emptying the bedding of the coop directly into the run this year instead of in a compost bin. It makes the whole system simpler and healthier. Thanks for sharing your experience :)

[@appleturnover]

i’m doing this every year now. even the heavy wood shavings break down beautifully into rich dark compost, and of course it all does double duty for keeping the hens healthy and housing lively and dry. my pleasure! hope you like the new series!

[@judywiggins5092]

Gorgeous place. I want to be one of your chickens!

[@appleturnover]

thank you, i’m sure they’d be pleased to have you! such lap-chickens this lot.

[@shanmacpherson1603]

an elegant harnessing of natural processes. way to go!

[@appleturnover]

thank you shan! we’re always so delighted when we find ways to work with natural patterns.

[@loriperez3578]

@@appleturnover love the way you say this. it's so important to find balance with the rhythms of nature and you capture it so beautifully in your film.

[@appleturnover]

i’m so glad you think so, lori!

[@growanewsystem4141]

This video is amazing! I have been wondering about chickens in my garden for a while, and this has made up my mind for me. They're such fun to watch too!

[@appleturnover]

hurrah! we are so pleased to hear it. you will just love living with chickens!

[@elizabethsansom6447]

Nice video thank you for taking the time to do it you have a beautiful place and your ladies are very nice and healthy

[@appleturnover]

thank you so much, elizabeth!

[@ToonLeighporpeangfarmThailand]

Now that was a beautiful video. Brilliant 💚💛🧡

[@appleturnover]

oh, thank you toon & leigh!

[@growinginthewind]

lovely vlog :) felt like I was being led on a chicken composting lullaby of enrichment

[@appleturnover]

well, that’s sweet!

[@growinginthewind]

@@appleturnover I also subbed 😊🙏🏿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@appleturnover]

oh good! i will look forward to hearing what you think of upcoming films. if you use instagram, @appleturnover or you may prefer the ‘postcards’ eepurl.com/dO0KAz

[@onlydreams719]

Very beautiful, informative & relaxing video. Thank you!

[@appleturnover]

i’m so glad!

[@alexisCalled10]

I've never seen a gray rooster he's so charming looking

[@appleturnover]

isn’t he? he’s a lavender orpington and we adore him.

[@sonjamiller8607]

In this little bit of time you taught me so much thank you so much. I haven't cleaned my coop in a few months I just keep adding to it. Maybe I can use that for my vegetables I plan on planting this spring. In the South it stays pretty much warm. We get a little cold breeze in January just maybe a handful of days. Thanks for teaching me today

[@appleturnover]

i’m delighted, sonja! i really like moving some of the coop litter to the run, to allow it to compost quickly (with rain/added water) then pull that back to add to my garden. if it isn’t quite ‘cooked’ i’ll add it now and leave it mulched for the winter but it seems to have broken down so beautifully each year. i plan to post updates to this little film, you might like to join the list to hear: eepurl.com/dO0KAz

[@marknataliemalinowski4846]

Fantastic. We decided to add 6 hens this past spring to our little urban veggie garden. We are still learning how to care for the deep litter/run. Very informative!

[@appleturnover]

how wonderful! such a great companion to a veg patch. is it common to keep chickens in your town?

[@marknataliemalinowski4846]

@@appleturnover Update! It worked great, all winter 5 months with no cleaning the coop. We needed some soil for a new raised bed, so we pulled it from the outside fenced run, and moved the winter litter that was in the coop to the run. We left some “starter” behind, for the next coop deep litter wood chips to get going! We would love a video on how you built your chicken coop! We learned that good ventilation in the coop was also critical, for the birds in general and especially with the deep litter method. Urban chickens are becoming more popular in our area. Most local cities allow 3-6 hens which is just enough to keep a family in eggs, and make compost for the garden!

[@appleturnover]

oh, how wonderful an update! i’m so glad to hear it. have a look at our ‘goosehouse’ film for some basics, maybe we can do a patreon tour of the henhouse and how we manage the nestboxes and roosts. chickens make a city better!

[@marinaaleksjutina]

Such beautiful mood in this video! Thank you for sharing information and tips! Your chickens are beauties! ❤ 🌻

[@appleturnover]

thanks marina! stay tuned for ‘broody hen’ out soon!

[@pikkusieluinen]

Great information. Love to see happy chickens 💕

[@appleturnover]

thanks ann! look out for our film about working with broody hens, next!

[@birchmoonfarm101]

Wonderful video and really enjoyable editing style

[@appleturnover]

glad you thought so!

[@LittleSpanishFarmstead]

This was fascinating, the chickens look so healthy and that compost from the floor of their run looks 😍 Thank you for making this!

[@appleturnover]

thanks harriet!

[@sa7el]

Wow!! Great video, building a coop right now, and this was very helpful. Excited to see the chicks grow enough to graduate from brooder to coop!!

[@appleturnover]

oh, i’m so glad, omar. it is so exciting when they finally go up to roost!

[@avacrawford3175]

What a great video. I’m starting my deep litter with 3 pullets and hemp base. The idea of bamboo leaves is great. I have a ton :) I admire your intelligence and connection with the earth. Way to go! :)

[@appleturnover]

thanks ava, pleased you thought so! 3 pullets, how exciting!

[@urbangardeningandchickenke1018]

Excellent video with lot of information

[@appleturnover]

thanks!!

[@drewtaylor5205]

Your intro is AMAZING! Great video im gonna steal some of your ideas for my chicken run

[@appleturnover]

thanks drew! happy building.

[@petecater700]

Great video, this gave me some great ideas for my own chickens. Nice quality to the video as well. Thanks once again.

[@appleturnover]

that’s great to hear! many thanks for your support.

[@wizzytimeless]

Great video thank you. I never thought to deep bed the run with the old bedding from the coup .

[@appleturnover]

thank you, let us know how it works for you!

[@Hi-ui7yl]

Love your video and the chicken run.

[@appleturnover]

thank you francisco!

[@composthappens1400]

I love deep litter, keeps my ladies warm all winter long here in Maryland

[@appleturnover]

ah, wonderful!

[@linmcdon1662]

FANTASTIC video. Love it.

[@appleturnover]

oh, i’m so glad. thank you lin.

[@modiddley6656]

Extremely well done in substance, presentation and film making. We need more of this earthly symbiosis NOW and less of---THAT ! But how do you keep you tu be from invading your videos with horrific ads? Keep up the good work and indeed---WATER IS LIFE. I will look into appleturnover patron stuff and check my squeezed budget.

[@appleturnover]

this is ever so kind, thank you! your support means so much.

[@guwantehiralal2147]

This video us so calming🥰

[@appleturnover]

oh, i’m so glad. i think our new one will be even calmer- ‘broody hen’

[@IanFarrellCreative]

Nice video, informative too and nice and calm.

[@appleturnover]

thank you ian. glad you liked the calm.

[@mickybearden9641]

I like what you're doing very much. I do Deep Litter using Pine Shavings...daily I add a 5 gal Bucket to the Floor under the Roost Bar. It takes any Smell away, and my Girls turn it over n over several times. I will Clean it all out soon, but started it last October. I am satisfied how well it's worked, but really like how you've added it to the Run. My Run is Covered in Hardware Cloth up the Sides & Under everything too, the Roof is Hard Covered with Metal Roofing. We have lotsa Rain here, so it's been very Dry & Comfy for my Girls. Thank You for your Great Videos!!

[@appleturnover]

wonderful! we are planning to add a metal roof, possibly something removable. so. much. rain. but the hens are out all day anyway...they like our porch! pleased you like the videos micky.

[@irisalosavalos1945]

G.moornin ma'am...love to start the day with one of your videos, your voice and explanation just good combo😘

[@appleturnover]

good morning irisalos! i’m delighted. some folks tell me they start with one of my podcasts: appleturnover.tv/farm/podcast-subscribe/

[@urbangardeningandchickenke1018]

Wonderful garden and other stuff 💓

[@appleturnover]

thanks!

[@urbangardeningandchickenke1018]

Excellent 👍

[@mrsdavenport1031]

Very helpful, beautiful video 😊

[@appleturnover]

oh, i’m glad, toya. i hope you’ll like the new films coming up!

[@alastair1955]

Lovely video, happy chickens 🙂

[@appleturnover]

thank you alistair! such happy hens.

[@andrewdavis928]

Great video! Well done, beautiful.

[@appleturnover]

thanks andrew!

[@fazalkhanfazalkhan8521]

Thanku for such a wonderful vid

[@appleturnover]

thanks for your support!

[@TheLinkMedic]

this video is so cozy

[@appleturnover]

that’s so nice, aaron, thank you.

[@alexandraderry7086]

How did this method work for you guys? I’d love to see an updated chicken coop and run tour!

[@appleturnover]

it was brilliant and produced beautiful compost! just now roofing the run to counter some of the climate-change induced flooding…very important to have things dry enough for the hens and to dig out the compost! great idea to do an update…

[@praisethelord4222]

very informative. thank you.

[@appleturnover]

you are very welcome!

[@jessicaj8148]

Okay I am going to try this for the run/fenced chicken yard. We can't really free range right now since my yard backs to a main road and isn't fenced in. But this seems easy enough. thanks!

[@appleturnover]

they’ll adore it! you’re very welcome.

[@sweetredsrecipes601]

Keep up the great amazing job

[@appleturnover]

oh, thank you!

[@BarryFresh]

Great video i really enjoyed it and learned about from your system.

[@appleturnover]

thanks barry!

[@jobwanaeaioio3580]

Beautiful farm❤❤

[@appleturnover]

thank you ♥️

[@fredfrond6148]

Very nice and sustainable system.

[@appleturnover]

thanks!

[@gardenextra7415]

Well done 🐥

[@appleturnover]

cheers!

[@susanaesmerald2291]

Divine!!

[@appleturnover]

thanks susana! i hope you like the new series too!

[@ediblegardening]

Thanks for sharing

[@appleturnover]

you are very welcome!

[@humboldthemp4306]

Great video.

[@appleturnover]

thank you!

[@walkingbacktogardening381]

Brilliant

[@appleturnover]

shucks (о´∀`о)

[@sansomspressurecleaningpoo9519]

Thank you

[@appleturnover]

you are very welcome.

[@spoolsandbobbins]

Lovely! Just one question. I was taught you could not deep litter unless on the ground. Can anyone shed more light on this for me? What a lovely video!!!

[@appleturnover]

thanks heidi! it’s fine on any surface, but you may wish to lay down linoleum over wood to extend its life.

[@paulavang2987]

I like all your raising chikens ares all natural and screen chiken coops is very nice the cheiken can breath easy and like clean where is this place love it also do have a bamboo too. Thank you for sharing.

[@appleturnover]

hi paula, i’m so glad! bamboo is such an amazing plant. we are on an island off the pacific coast of canada.

[@HedgehogsHomestead]

love this i do this to i like your spin on it

[@appleturnover]

that’s great - i’m pleased you do, hedgehog’s

[@gufu21]

I'm jealous of these people raising chickens in a lush, green field amid a forest. I've got six chickens in my backyard in the semi-arid mountain west. They've turned my yard into a wasteland. 🤣

[@appleturnover]

for what it’s worth, i’ve seen goats and chickens do that on this pacific north west island too! the key can be to keep them moving and sow seeds after they’ve been on a patch. i have friends who use three runs in rotation where they do that. they can actually effectively deepen soil and waterholding but it takes some designing and experimenting.

[@AffyBoy]

thank you for your nice GROUNDED video -- so nice -- time for chickens at the Happy House Farm I think :L)

[@appleturnover]

oh, this is very kind, thank you. definitely time for chickens!

[@nessar936]

♥️

[@appleturnover]

☆彡

[@Greg5D]

Magical

[@appleturnover]

i’m glad.

[@SJ-gj7mx]

Nice music and video editing

[@appleturnover]

thanks sj!

[@deirdre444]

Your calming voice and poetic prose are tranquilizing. Thank you.

[@appleturnover]

thank you deirdre!

[@jaathudson]

I do the deep litter method, but I use sand instead of shavings. I had some issues with bumblefoot while using shavings.

[@appleturnover]

oh, that's really interesting!

[@mikeehayden1]

Beautiful video and wonderful content, thanks! I’m just getting into chickens and wondering if you have any issues with the chickens free ranging. Wondered if you have any predator issues or have a hard time getting the hens to lay in boxes when the world is their playground. Thanks for any advice and thank you for the great information.

[@appleturnover]

thanks michael! we are fully fenced here, we keep the hens secure in the hardware-cloth run/house from dusk when they head home for dinner to about 8.30 when human activity sends the raccoons away. our roosters do a great job alerting to predators, but it was the geese that really helped. they guard everyone. we are extra cautious with the broody hens with small chicks, supervising free-ranging. and yes, there’s some easter egg hunts, we try to leave a nest egg in reasonable spots so that they keep laying there instead of new mystery locations. getting broodies into their own tiny house helps too as no one wants to lay with a grumpy mama! more on that in our new film coming soon. you might like to join our mailing list to hear: eepurl.com/dO0KAz

[@urbangardeningandchickenke1018]

Just subscribed your channel

[@appleturnover]

that means a lot.

[@miabagley2202]

How did using the coop bedding in the run work out. I'm thinking of doing the same.

[@appleturnover]

just beautifully. stay tuned for a follow-up film on this -

[@krzysztofrudnicki5841]

I have a similar idea, but want to make floorless portable chicken coop, something like chickshaw over the compost run area.

[@appleturnover]

sounds great! we worry about predators tunneling under at night but a hardware cloth ‘apron’ around it can help.

[@krzysztofrudnicki5841]

@@appleturnover yeah. I was thinking about ft deep rectangular compost pit on openwork concrete pavement with fencing covered with raspberries and blackberries for some permaculture style.

[@MrMcGillicuddy]

I've practiced this for years just with maple leaves in abundance. works perfect and I make a hot compost pile to warm seedling trays in the spring. how do you do deep litter with geese? I tried ducks but they get everything wet and they mat the litter down unlike the chickens keeping it aerated and dry. I got rid of waterfowl because of that but I'd really like to have meat geese to follow behind sheep in a rotation but winter is so messy for waterfowl. I can't picture how to manage them it gets so anaerobic

[@appleturnover]

great! so with the geese, i invite chickens in to turn it, i also stick to sawdust types of bedding. my geese freerange so they aren’t in their house so very much either. i wish you good luck!

[@kimjaymama26]

How did it work to put the contents of the hen house into the run. Would like to try it but wanted to know how you made out with that year you tried it?

[@appleturnover]

it worked brilliantly! we had a LOT of rain so that may have helped?

[@lucycat4305]

So, when using the deep litter method in my run, I should be putting my kitchen scraps that I would usually put in my regular compost bin, into the run (egg shells, apple cores/skin, potato skins, lettuce, etc)? I've just started the deep litter method in my run back in feb. We used to free range our 3 hens, but we adopted a dog in dec and had to set up a run to keep them safe until the dog is trained not to go after them. Just want to make sure I do everything right when using this method in the run!

[@appleturnover]

i have a separate hot compost (humanure) so my experience is that i put stuff i wouldn’t feed hens in there. if you’re adding things to the run they shouldn’t eat, i would bury it, as they probably trust you to bring edible food and may not check as thoroughly, as well as, being in the run, they don’t have choices as when free-ranging. we don’t want them eating raw potato skins or something mouldy (though they probably just wouldn’t. mine are picky!) so, scraps they can eat, fed, scraps they can’t, well buried. eggshells, crushed so they aren’t making them think, hmmm, shall i eat my own egg? some people dry in a brown bag separately then crush as a supplement. some dry them in an oven! i generally sprinkle those around plants (crushed) instead of lime. lots of possibilities!

[@jjime1175]

Definitely use a mask when scraping liter from hen house, take a look in the air and you will see lots of dust from the manure

[@appleturnover]

yes, i must get better at that. at least i have a lot of masks now! some folks spray it down a little first.

[@annwithaplan9766]

jjime - Oh yes! When recording a video in there I could see LOTS of dust flying around without even moving anything.

[@fiestacranberry]

I'm trying deep litter in my run. But whenever it gets wet, I get ammonia smell. If I keep it dry, it doesn't compost, but looks like what you have in your coop. What am I doing wrong? I'm using hemp in my runs.

[@appleturnover]

when i get an ammonia smell i add more carbon sources. different types might be better. if you want to keep it damp for composting to happen you still want it dry on top for the hens’ health, so add more layers. it’s always a balance. damp underneath; drier on top may do the trick. i like to think forest floor.

[@jkedlife2937]

Beautifully shot. Which camera, please?

[@appleturnover]

just an iphone! moment makes a nice macro lens for it.

[@deydsonrodriguesmaforte1201]

Lindas galinhas

[@appleturnover]

(´∀｀*)☆彡

[@t.n.1116]

Your rooster looks exactly like mine, Godzilla, who died 4/1/20 protecting his hens. We tried repeatedly to hatch chicks from him when he was alive but we think he was infertile 😓 RIP Godzilla

[@appleturnover]

oh, dear fellow! i do love the orpingtons. the black orpington seems more resilient, generally, i love having both. i sometimes bring in eggs from fresh genetics for my layers to hatch and brood to make sure we have diversity. a good rooster is priceless.

[@brittanyfraser8056]

Can you please explain to me in depth how this works? I live in a super hot climate and am preparing for about 2 to 3 chickens as we are in town. I've been told I should clean regularly etc. Summer is our storm season too with loads of rain we have a coop and will be making a run.

[@appleturnover]

it works like any compost does, and it hot weather it will compost much faster. if you have a great deal of rain like we do you may want to cover your run, perhaps permanently, to slow it all down a bit. on the other hand, you can produce compost very quickly so yay!

[@tomkeroolfs2139]

Hey Elisa, I was wondering about something: are there mites coexisting there and you're taking care of them by putting essential oil on the chickens or are they not even there usually? I don't really want to buy the expensive powders and clean the coop every week, but I have 0 experience and those mites seem to be the worst enemy as far as people talk about them Also, what about the hot compost in the summer? We get 40 degrees celsius here and sometimes it doesnt even properly cool at night...

[@appleturnover]

that’s pretty hot. it’s only a degree or two warmer with the deep litter and if it is kept very dry it won’t raise the temperature much. just plan to clear out the coop as things warm up in the spring and have plenty of fresh litter in there. as for mites, it’s hard for me to know. they show every sign of being healthy and the critical thing is probably to have a balanced coexistence. i don’t remove all the bedding at once and just keep adding to it since everyone’s doing fine. coconut oil on their legs took care of some mites some years ago when the hens were stressed after moving here.

[@lilawiese2460]

I posted a comment further down, actually a question, but I now have another question. Our chicken coop has wood chips on the floor. Do you think adding some leaves in there would be a good idea?

[@appleturnover]

hi lila! yes, dry leaves would be brilliant! a diversity of shapes and kinds of carbon is so great for microbiota and the health of the flock.

[@appleturnover]

lila can you repost your other question (or comment on it) as i cannot seem to find it and want to make sure you had an answer :)

[@lilawiese2460]

@@appleturnover now I'm not sure which post I commented on 😬 I believe I randomly found you and it was an older post. I wish I'd known about you sooner.

[@appleturnover]

you might like to check out my farm tours over at patreon.com/appleturnover

[@3bouldersurban653]

Don’t you get a lot of rain in the year so to flood/ soak the uncovered chicken run?

[@appleturnover]

i have covered it on and off over the years but we just decided to go with steel roofing for water catchment and protection for rain and snow. the hens rarely spend a day in mind you! in all this snow they love the tarp but the plastic worries me!

[@kylerushing898]

Have you had any problems with mites? Tried deep layer bedding but chickens keep getting mites so I end up having to clean out the chicken coup every month or so.

[@appleturnover]

we did get that once, and i tried a bunch of things so hard to know what helped…they were the sort that get under the scales so everyone got a couple of coconut oil/neem pedicures and that sorted it. i think. i also added more soil from different spots so the biota in the coop was more robust. but mostly i think it was their health, making sure they were strong. they’d been stressed by the move you see.

[@MC-xg9fv]

Can I ask how often you add carbon over the nitrogen in the run?

[@appleturnover]

i like to keep it soft and fluffy so you can’t really see poop and it could be dug over if they liked…not solid or matted. that’s ideal…totally failing to keep up with it with the severe rains we’re having and need to tarp or roof the run this year! it is composting down so fast. it should smell fine and be kind of cosy. does that help?

[@kylerushing898]

Have you found any alternatives to sawdust? Trying to find something I can generate on my own homestead that doesn’t need to be brought in.

[@appleturnover]

working on that one! getting organised around leaves is good, drying those, rough hay of our own too. we’ve pollarded a maple and hope to have more. wood chip in the run mixed with various carbon is great but in the coop i want softer stuff. so in a word- no! but i aspire! someone said corn cobs…if i didn’t distrust machines…paper shredder!

[@krzysztofrudnicki5841]

I need advice about raising small flock of ducks (about 5 runners). I wanted to raising chickens, but we have so much slug infestation that only ducks will help. So chickens will scratch in deep litter, ducks won't and mixing litter should be my job. I wish to let ducks free range on my property and put then in the coop only for bedtime. What do you think about deep litter method in raising waterfowl?

[@appleturnover]

hi krzysztof, i love deep litter for everyone including water fowl. i don’t put water in the coop and just use sawdust or pellets, and remove the compost frequently as it builds up. it’s great directly around fruit trees, shrubs, doesn’t burn. i have my ducks out all day too, the geese add safety for them but we have tons of tree cover.

[@krzysztofrudnicki5841]

@@appleturnover thank you!

[@appleturnover]

my pleasure.

[@Th3d0cToR1]

What kind of plants are at 28 seconds? Bamboo?

[@appleturnover]

yes! timber bamboo. truly massive and they shoot up in the space of a week. the hens love to hang out in the groves.

[@wh880]

Did it work in the end?

[@appleturnover]

yes, brilliantly! i’m planning a follow-up and look out for shorts…my latest biochar and wood ash short you can see a bit of it too…

[@estellesellier-ashworth8230]

Hello, we have a coop similar to yours with wood planks for flooring. We tried the deep litter method and ended up with mites. How do you prevent this from happening? thank you

[@estellesellier-ashworth8230]

We were using Straw for bedding.

[@scahil1]

Neem oil on the birds and in their nest boxes took care of our mites

[@appleturnover]

yes! tea tree is also great.

[@appleturnover]

we got mites from sharing bedding seven years ago on another farm…they were the sort that lift their scales so we just slathered legs and feet with coconut oil and neem. i sometimes drop tea tree into the nest boxes. but my unpopular opinion is that this composting litter in the house is like a healthy gut. it is being super *clean* that is the source of health but rather being super *biodiverse* and alive with a wide range of microbiota. so, we add more sources from soil and leaves around the property and make sure it is really varied in textures and old plantlife and such. much like eating diverse, living foods. compost and fermenting cultures have so much in common. my birds are healthy for the diversity. their free-ranging matters too…not much cooping up. i hope that helps!

[@appleturnover]

so you might need a great diversity of materials. i find straw can be problematic but a mix can work.

[@winniecash1654]

How do you protect your flocks from hawks?

[@appleturnover]

we have a couple of roosters and a trio of geese; a ton of tree and shrub cover; chicks are generally under supervision by a broody + a person; they learn skills! because they have room to free-range they choose safer spots. and we have a very home-based life so can listen out. lastly, if a hawk persists we will lock everyone down for a couple days and they tend to move on…i wish you good luck!

[@joanalee3487]

I have a question..if coop is predator proof ...why even have a floor in the coop...just deep bed the whole yard...and winter/ wind proof as or when needed ..

[@appleturnover]

i guess it depends on your climate! around here the rainy season is so profound, i like to keep the house up on legs standing on stones to prevent rot. the space is much drier whereas the run gets saturated. besides this, under the coop is a fabulous space for the birds to hide out from the weather and in spring a broody may raise her flock there too.

[@annwithaplan9766]

I'm doing the deep litter method, too. What country are you in? Thank you.

[@appleturnover]

we’re on an island off the west coast of canada, not so far from orcas island if you’re familiar with that.

[@annwithaplan9766]

@@appleturnover - Ah ok thanks. Wow, I went to Orcas Island back in 2006 with my parents when we were visiting Blaine, Washington after my husband died. We took a ferry to the island. I had to go back on my pictures because I couldn't remember the name of it haha. I only had one picture that showed the name on a building where we had stopped.

[@appleturnover]

oh, that sounds like a good trip. i want to visit the bullock’s permaculture farm there. whereabouts are you?

[@annwithaplan9766]

@@appleturnover - Oh, that would be fun. I am now living in North Carolina. I always wanted to go back to Washington but never did. I had visited Mt. Baker and it was one of the most beautiful places I'd even been to. I have some nice scenic photos of the area.

[@appleturnover]

we can see it from afar on this island.

[@blairtheageese5269]

✔👀❤👍

[@appleturnover]

Thanks!

[@adyingbreedofman9112]

Coconut Fiber?

[@appleturnover]

whatever’s the most local carbon. so, probably? i’m not familiar with it.

[@groton5376]

0:54 my little brother has givin this type of chicken male hunky chunky chicken

[@appleturnover]

i quite agree. orpingtons are such handsome fellows.

[@groton5376]

@@appleturnover I love all chickens female chickens are the best for all the colorful different eggs my fav chickens are the polish ones with the puffs on there head

[@appleturnover]

i love the rainbow of eggs too. i want chocolatey ones.

[@Likit257]

Are cats safe for chicks?

[@appleturnover]

my cats are, they protect them. but cats may vary! better not to tempt them.

[@organixgirl]

Does your run get pretty wet when it rains?

[@appleturnover]

it didn’t used to be too bad but after last year’s flooding, we are aiming to throw on a simple roof. it will have the added benefit of rainwater capture! but i bet the run will need some of that water added to make sure things are breaking down. it’ll be nicer for everyone to have a roof in the rainy season, too.

[@ajknaup3530]

Why does everyone have a floor in their chicken coop?

[@appleturnover]

to get to the compost, on the other side (see, deep litter). if you prefer a wire floor that allow droppings to go to the earth below, it’s a different process entirely.

[@summerbaby9379]

What do you do when it rains and it gets wet?

[@appleturnover]

it just breaks it down faster, but i recently added a roof…i’ll post an update about it when i have a moment. you might like to get on the ‘postcards’ list to hear: eepurl.com/dO0KAz